NEW YORK -- Yes, the Rockies lost another tough game to the Yankees, 11-5, on Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium to extend their losing streak to six, but Colorado showed signs of life on offense.

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On Friday, manager Bud Black said the Rockies had a bad day because the offense and pitching staff were in terrible slumps.

But things started to change in Saturday¡¯s five-run sixth inning against right-hander Mashahiro Tanaka. The Yankees were ahead, 9-0, when the Rockies scored their first run on an RBI double by Trevor Story.

Two batters later, the Rockies made it a game, when Nolan Arenado hit a three-run homer. Daniel Murphy followed with a double, and Ian Desmond drove him home with an RBI single. Although they didn¡¯t score another run, the Rockies went 2-for-2 with runners in scoring position for the game.

¡°[The sixth inning] got us within slam range at 9-5 in the middle of the game. ... That was good to see. Hopefully it becomes a carryover,¡± Black said.

Arenado, who left the game because of leg cramps in the eighth inning, has struggled of late. In his last 25 games, he is 20-for-86 (.233) with four home runs and 14 RBIs.

¡°Right now, I¡¯m a little uncomfortable [at the plate]. It¡¯s been a grind. I hit some balls hard the last week-and-a-half and had nothing to show for it,¡± Arenado said. "It was just nice to see it go out, drive in some runs.¡±

Senzatela had no excuses for bad outing

Rockies right-hander Antonio Senzatela had one of his worst outings of the season in Saturday's loss to the Yankees.

Senzatela lasted 1 1/3 innings, allowing six runs on seven hits. He even made a throwing error in the five-run second that proved costly.

¡°The pitchers had a tough go of it in the second inning. Senzatela threw one away and a few innings later, Chad Bettis threw one away," Black said. "We are not playing the defense we are accustomed to."

One wonders if the heat played a role for Senzatela to be ineffective on the mound. The gametime temperature was 94 degrees, but Senzatela had no excuses. The last time Senzatela had a quality start was June 23 against the Dodgers, when he allowed two runs in 6 1/3 innings.

¡°I had too many hitters in bad counts,¡± Senzatela said. ¡°You try to make quality pitches, get out of the jams. I¡¯m mostly frustrating myself, not being able to have a quality start.¡±

Black said the Rockies issued too many walks (five) to the Yankees.

"When the Yankees got some hits, the ball was elevated," Black said. "[The double] to [Aaron] Judge in the first inning, the ball was up. DJ [LeMahieu] found a hit in the first inning of the game. It¡¯s part of baseball."